Youth to trek from Bluff to Cape Reinga
by Lavinia Ngatoko
A 21-year-old from Oamaru in Otago plans to walk the length of New Zealand pulling a 10 foot cross. His supporters are hoping, as Ryan Craig takes his silent witness throughout the nation, many will support him. Ryan believes the Lord has called him to undertake this mission to encourage young people to follow their dreams and not give up on themselves. He will leave Bluff on Easter Sunday, March 23, and follow State Highway 1, but avoiding the motorways, until he reaches Cape Reinga. All he will take will be the cross, a bivvy bag so he can sleep outside along the way, if no-one takes him in, and a food and gas cooker stored in a box attached under the cross. On the box, The Ten Commandments and several scriptures are printed.
“I would like to see more Christians taking steps of faith and following God’s will for their lives,” said Ryan, who works in a nursery growing plants for market gardens. “It doesn’t matter what sort of background they have come from and challenges they face. I have dyslexia and haven’t really achieved much, have struggled at school and got bullied a lot. “I just want to show young people that in Christ they can do all things.”
The inspiration for the initiative came during a walk on the beach. Ryan was asking the Lord for new direction. “The Lord said to me that I hadn’t finished the previous job he had asked me to do, which was sell all my collections, which included stamps, coins, 1500 golf balls and antique bottles and give the money away. So he sold the collections and gave away the rest of the money. Then the Lord impressed on his heart to walk the length of New Zealand pulling a cross. At six foot three inches, Ryan thinks he is physically well able to carry the cross.
Ryan has the prayer support of his church, Oamaru Elim, as well as other Christian friends, although he suggests jokingly that he has no support crew during the journey because “no-one was game enough.” All his t-shirts and sweatshirts are printed with “I’m a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?”, and “I’m prepared to walk the talk, are you?” His mother Violet said they knew people would look at Ryan walking along the way and maybe think how “foolish” he was or looked. “But who is the fool? His purpose in life is to be a fool for Christ. He’s willing to step out for Christ and what he believes,” she said. “He is a silent witness to the state of the nation. I hope Christians around the nation will support him.”
Oamaru Elim pastor Max Martin said the church was fully behind Ryan’s mission and would be praying for him. Mr Martin said Ryan would be sharing at the church service last Sunday about what he was setting out to do. “It’s a little unusual but if he feels that is what God is calling him to do, that is great,” he said.
“He has a real passion to share the Gospel and he should get lots of opportunities to do that along the way. I’ll be keeping in contact with him throughout his walk.” Ryan’s journey should take about three to four months.
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